media

1. How are different groups represented in music videos?
Beautiful Little Fools- JorjaSmith
'Beautiful little fools'byneo-soul/R&Bjazz-tingedJorjaSmithisone of hermore recentsingles,released
on internationalWomensday.Jorja Smithwrote thissongwhenshe was16 yearsold,afterreading'The
Great Gatsby',by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Her firstsingle wasDizzee Rascal inspired'Blue Lights',whichpromptedaquickrise tosuccess,while
presentinghersocial awareness;exploringthe stereotypesthatclingtoyoungblackmenregarding
crime.She isfeaturedonDrake's'Get it together' onhis2017 mixtape 'More Life’,hisseventh
consecutive numberone albumthatbroke streamingrecords.JorjaSmithmethermanagerwhenshe
was 15 (now20). She releasedherEP'project11' in2016, consistingof songsshe wrote inherteenage
years.Arounda yearlater,she was shortlistedforthe BBC'ssoundof 2017. She is due to go onher UK
headline tourin2018, describedasa 'soulful R&Bphenomenon'whois'alreadyaversatile,fullyformed
creative'.(1)
In comparisontoSmith'sothermusicvideos,'Beautiful LittleFools'iscomposedof amore narrative
structure,similarto'Teenage Fantasy'. Thisnarrative structure opposesthe majorityof hermusicvideos
whichare natural,suchas 'Where didI go', whichwas filmed,directedandeditedbyJorjaSmithand
featureshersingingagainstaneutral background,exploringall the emotionsinvolvedduringa
separation.

2. Thisnatural,simplistictheme portrayssmithaslessof a 'celebrity'andmore 'normal'as such,ensuring
heraudience canrelate to heron a more humane level. Thislaidback,unpretentiousapproachisalso
showninSmith'sGarage/2-stepsong'Onmy mind'producedbyrenownedgrime/garageproducer,
Preditah.
The videoisUKG 90's inspiredandSmithdescribesitas'nostalgic,reflectingthe moodof the song'.
Again,itfeaturesSmithperformingthe songina house partystyle setting.ItisevidentthatJorja Smith
isin herelementwhenperforming.The range of handheldcamerashotsmake the audience feelasIf
theyare a part of the musicvideoratherthandistantand alienated,strictlyasan'audience member'.
These jerkyandraggedshotsadd to the evidentenjoymentshownbythe performersinthisvideo.
Despite there beingarange of shotsused,there are predominantlyclose upsused.
As mentionedpreviously,'Beautiful little fools'iscomposedof anarrative structure,withSmithasthe
protagonist. The factthat the song wasdeliberatelyreleasedoninternationalwoman'sdayimmediately
impliessome of the contextof thisvideo.The videohighlightsthe social constructsthatare placedupon
womenandthe restrictionsthatsocietyforce uponwomen.ThissongwaswrittenafterJorjaSmithread
The Great Gatsby. Thissongand the narrative isbasedon a quote fromthe bookthat Smith disagreed
with;"be a fool - that's the bestthinga girl can be inthisworld,a beautiful littlefool". Despite
progressive changesinthe role of womeninthe 1920's withregardsto post-warrightsandwork etc,
womenwere still massivelyoppressed. Thisnew 'speak-easy'jazzlifestyle setchangesinwhatwas
acceptable forwomen.Womenwere more liberatedintermsof consumptionof Alcohol,Sex and
Cigarettes.However,thiscombinedwiththe radical change infashion,forexample,precipitatedwomen
becomingevenmore sexualisedamongstsocietythanbefore.Itwasevidentthattalentorintelligence
of womenwasnotvaluedbythe 1920s society,andthe above quote supportsthisfurther.The
character of Daisy inThe Great Gatsby, whoappearsto be a basisforSmithscharacters,usesherbeauty
to live the glamorousandluxuriouslifethatshe does,butisalsoa male fantasyand constantly
sexualised.
Throughoutthe video,Smithactsandperformsas three differentcharactersthatall cross pathsand are
showninthe same Gatsby aestheticinspiredmodernsetting:

3. Thisvideoconstructsrepresentationsof genderthat reinforce stereotypical representationsand
reinforce the hegemonyof genderrepresentation. Smithcreatesarepresentationof womenbeing
oppressedinthismusicvideo,andthroughpresenting/exploringmultiple charactersshe posesmultiple
representationsof ‘differenttypesof women’,bypresentingwomenof differentclasses,occupations,
and social status’.The Gatsbythemedbasisof the setting/aestheticsinamoderncontexthighlightshow
despite the change ineraand society,the problemof female oppressionandgenderinequalityisstill
veryapparent,whetherit’sthe 1920s or 2017. Smithplaysan evidentlywealthywomanhavingdrinks
withherboyfriendandfriend,afedupwaitressand singerall inthe same setting.Presentinghow a
wealthyandglamorouswomanhasthe same issuesasa lesswealthywaitresswhoisworkingajobshe
clearlydoesn’tenjoyaccentuatesthe overall intentionof the song/videoandamplifiesSmith’s
representation.Factorssuchas camerawork,mise-en-scene andthe narrative/actingof the videocreate
these representations.
Withinthe firstfewsecondsof the videowe are introducedto
the firstcharacter, a glamorous,wealthybutevidentlyunhappy
woman.The firstshot isherin the mirror,touchingup hermake
up. Instantly,there isanexample of voyeurismandthe notion
of looking,thattheoristAndrewGoodwinstatesisoftenin
musicvideos.Despitethisnotbeingasexual scene,itis
intrusive of analmostpersonal moment,where the characteris
alone and‘preparingherself’. Asthe ‘voyeurs’the audience
have the powerof watchinga character that is unaware they
are beingwatched. Itcouldalsobe an example of the characterconformingtothe standardsof society
and stereotype of womenhavingtolookgoodandattractive. Thisclose upshot isclearlyfocusedonthe
appearance of Smith,while makingitmore intimate andtherefore voyeuristic.Herreapplyingred
lipstickisastrong symbol of love,passion,sexanddanger.Inthe 1920’s women were notvaluedand
respectedbeingconstantlysexuallyobjectified whilstfacingmisogyny. The symbol of redmeaning
dangercouldbe representativeof howwomenwere portrayedasdangerousandfallinginlove with a
womana bad, and distractingact.
In a
group
of
three
shots,
Smith
is
shownforcefullyandquicklysmiling,thensuddenlygoingbacktoa blank
unhappyface.Asshe pausesthenhastilysitsdownasthe camera followshertoshow a man that she
sitsnextto,who fromthe rest of the video, we caninferisher boyfriend.Throughthe cameraworkitis
impliedthatthisiswhoshe issmilingatinsuch a scathingand forcedway.Throughoutthe videoall

4. three charactersappear extremelymelancholic,presentinghow trappedtheyall feel;clearly all doing
thingsmakingthemunhappy.
At 0:54 (approximately)there isashotof a man talkingtoand lookingatsomeone.The camerathen
cuts to a shot of a womansat opposite him.The cameratiltsupwardsfromherwaisttoher face. Thisis
an example of the male gaze theory(LauraMulvey).Mulvey’stheory explainshow womenare often
part of a mediaproductto be sexualizedandlookedat, puttingthe audience inthe perspectiveof a
heterosexual male.Thisisshowninthe shotjustmentioned,where the camerafollowsthe shape of the
woman’sbody,objectifyingher.The cameraisportrayingbothsocietiesview of womenandhow they
are objectifiedandoppressedbymen,andmore specificallythe mansatopposite herandhiseye line.
Again,the character isentirelyunaware of the male gaze and how she isbeinglookedat.Mulvey
commentsonthe ideaof the female gaze yetarguesthatisrarelypresentedinthe media.
She issittingat an angle facingawayfrom
herboyfriend, whilstshe isinthe
foregroundhe isinthe background.This
emphasizesherunhappiness,yetoppression
as she is still withhim.
His gaze isclearlycontrollingher,asshe then
looksdownavoidinghiseye contact.Thisisan
example of control intheirrelationshipand
how she is trappedandoppressed,and
submissivetomale control,juxtaposingher
otherwise rejectingopinionof him.

5. Smithisthe protagonistthroughoutthe video,inthe formsof all three characters.Herbeingconstantly
inthe foregroundandfocusof shotsrepresentsbothoppressionandthe male gaze,butalternatively
she isthe onlyfemale consciousof the oppressionshe/womanface inthe video.Thiscouldarguably
representherashaving positionof powerandcontrol due toher awareness. Itcouldbe arguedthat
there isa notable lackof male presence,due tothe minimal amountof male characters.Thisensures
onlyone side of Mulvey’smale/femalegaze mediatheoryisexplored.HoweverIthinkexploringthe
female gaze wouldcontradictthe contextanddidacticmessage of the videoandsong.
The representationisvisiblytargetedatfemales,ensuringtheyare aware of the oppressionfacedand
the standardssocietysetuponthem.The way Smithlooksintothe camera duringsingingcreatesthe
image that she isaddressingpeople directly,asthere are pointsinthe videowhere she almostbreaks
away fromthe narrative to addressthe audience.
On the otherhand,she couldbe addressingthose
whooppressfemales,similarlymakingthemaware
of howtheymayconsciouslyorsubconsciously
oppressfemalesinrealityorthroughthe media.
To some extent,the representationrely’son
stereotypestounderlinethe problemof females
beingoppressed,bypresentingthe oppression and
stereotypical standardswomenface.Angela
Mcrobbie’s‘Postfeministicontheory’explainshow
‘some female artistssuchasMadonna andLady Gaga exhibitstereotypical characteristicsof the male
gaze. Although,she stateshowbyexplicitlyusingtheserepresentations,itshowsstrength,courage and
control of females.‘Thiscontrol elementof theirownrepresentationiscrucial inunderstandingthe
theory’. Smithusesstereotypestohighlightoppression,allowingthe male gaze butnotexaggerating
certainstereotypesandrepresentationsof womenoftenshownin musicvideos,suchasfemaleswith
little clothingandopen,suggestive bodylanguageandmore intimate voyeurism/scopophilia.
(1) https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jul/23/jorja-smith-review-homegrown-r-and-b-new-
voice-electric-brixton